Philippines IP office waives fees for women-led patent applications
The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) has launched incentive programmes in a bid to boost the participation of women inventors and designers in innovation activities.
As part of the Juana Patent and Juana Design Protection Incentive programmes (JPIP), the office will waive certain fees for up to 50 patent grants, 150 utility models and 150 industrial design applications that qualify under the programmes and are filed with the office.
The programmes will run between April 15, 2022 to April 30, 2023 and, to qualify, the applications must be filed by women inventors or women-led micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and startups. Applications processed through the JPIP will also be prioritised and fast-tracked.
IPOPHL’s director general Rowel Barba said: “As the pandemic deepened risks on vulnerable groups like women, the JPIP comes at an opportune time to help them bounce back from the livelihood losses and economic challenges from the pandemic.
“By helping them capitalise their ingenuity and protect their IP, we are also fulfilling our commitment to do more in empowering women to spur innovation in the country.”
As part of its mission to increase women’s awareness of the newest programmes, IPOPHL signed a memorandum of agreement with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to jointly promote the JPIP.
Lolibeth Medrano, Bureau of Patents director, said: “This Juana programme will promote gender inclusivity and enhance national innovation. IP is one of the areas where women participation can be greatly enhanced.”
Medrano added that IPOPHL’s innovation efforts have helped elevate the Philippines in recent World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) data that ranked countries based on the share of women inventors applying through the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).
The Philippines ranked second as the country with the most women inventors—women make up 38% of all PCT applications filed through IPOPHL. In 2020, women inventors held a 22% share.
JPIP builds on the office’s Juana Make a Mark programme, a programme designed to encourage trademark registration among women-led MSMEs engaged in priority sectors identified by IPOPHL and DTI.
Last April, the IP office announced it would be extending the Make a Mark programme to help 1,000 more women-led MSMEs. At the time, the programme had helped 3,000 women entrepreneurs.
Did you enjoy reading this story? Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories sent like this straight to your inbox
Today’s top stories
